State Department Amends Its Joint Statement with Mexico: ‘Do What We Say, or Else’

Jan. 19—On Jan. 15, the State Department sent out a “Joint Statement on U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation,” clearly crafted carefully after a phone call between Secretary of State "Narco" Rubio and Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente earlier in the day. It was their second phone call in one week, and followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats that he is considering “land strikes” into Mexico, purportedly against drug facilities.

The joint statement “reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Mexico partnership grounded in mutual respect for sovereignty, while acknowledging that more must be done to confront shared threats.” Both sides agreed that “despite progress, significant challenges remain,” and therefore that the bilateral Security Implementation Group, set to meet on Jan. 23, “must continue to deliver tangible actions to strengthen security cooperation and meaningful outcomes.” The two also agreed that a Security Ministerial would be held in Washington, D.C. in February, to assess progress made in fighting narcotics trafficking (fentanyl, in particular), identify gaps and “set clear expectations for future collaboration.”

The statement reflected some tampering down of the threatening rhetoric coming from the gusano Rubio, who was reported by sources to be thrilled by Trump's only half joking claim that Rubio might be the President of Cuba in the not-so-distant future. Rubio has strongly denounced Mexico for helping to "prop up the Cuban regime," supplying it with much needed oil, while claiming the country is "soft" in fighting its drug cartels which send their drugs into the United States.

Therefore, it was not surprising, though highly undiplomatic. that Rubio had the Western Hemisphere Affairs Office of the U.S. State Department post an altered version joint statement to X, it added its unilateral statement of “what Mexico must do.” No reference to Mexican “sovereignty” appeared here. It read:

“The United States made clear that incremental progress in facing border security challenges is unacceptable. Upcoming bilateral engagements with Mexico will require concrete, verifiable outcomes to dismantle narcoterrorist networks and deliver a real reduction in fentanyl trafficking to protect communities on both sides of the border.”

Mexico has yet to comment on the threat from Rubio, but has rejected such statements in the recent past.